UN chief underlines ‘sustained commitment’ to JCPOA

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has stressed the importance of “sustained commitment” of all parties to the obligations under the landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.

Guterres issued a statement overnight marking the second anniversary of the historic agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aimed at ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

He added that the JCPOA stakeholders’ “sustained commitment is essential for the long-term viability and success of the agreement.”

He welcomed the recent recommitment to the “full and effective implementation” of the deal expressed by the JCPOA parties during their 7th meeting of the Joint Commission monitoring the deal’s implementation in the Austrian capital of Vienna on April 25, calling on them to continue to work together “in good faith and reciprocity.”

He said that both Iran and the P5+1 group should support further pursuit of the JCPOA and pledged that he would do the same.

The UN chief also commended Iran for implementing its nuclear-related commitments in accordance with the JCPOA.

“The JCPOA was a major achievement in the area of nuclear non-proliferation,” Guterres said, adding, “It gives us all hope that the most complex issues in this domain can be addressed through dialogue, understanding and cooperation.”

The UN chief stressed, “It is in the interest of the international community that this achievement of multilateral diplomacy endures transitions and implementation challenges cementing our collective commitment to diplomacy and dialogue.”

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the agreement, limits were put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

The UN Security Council later unanimously endorsed a resolution that effectively turned the JCPOA into international law.

The statement by the UN chief came after European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also urged all sides to the JCPOA to remain committed to their obligations under the deal.

“This deal belongs to the international community, having been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, that expects all sides to keep the commitments they took two years ago,” Mogherini said in a statement on Friday.